JP7085259B2 - Vehicle control unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that controls a traveling path of a vehicle.

Generally, in the automatic driving of a vehicle, the traveling route of the vehicle is determined so as to avoid a collision with a three-dimensional object existing around the vehicle. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1 below, a travelable area of a vehicle is generated on map data in which an object extracted from a landscape image taken from the vehicle is mapped, and a travel route of the vehicle is determined.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-164379

As described above, when a three-dimensional object that becomes an obstacle of a vehicle is detected using only a still image, is the three-dimensional object a moving body moving on a traveling path such as another vehicle? Alternatively, it is not easy to determine whether the object is stationary on the traveling path. Therefore, it is difficult to reflect the change in the situation due to the movement of the moving body around the vehicle in the determination of the traveling route of the vehicle at an early stage.

The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized as the following forms.

One embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle control device (10) that controls a travel path of a vehicle (100); an image acquisition unit (SI) that acquires a photographed image (SI) obtained by photographing the travel direction of the vehicle from the vehicle. 32) and; a motion state detection unit (35) that detects the motion state of the motion body (MB) moving in the travel direction of the vehicle; A track control unit (20) that defines DA) and determines a travel path of the vehicle within the travelable area; The undetectable region is extracted as the travelable region, and the position of at least a part of the boundary (BD, BDm) of the travelable region is changed according to the motion state of the moving body shown in the captured image. It is provided as a vehicle control device used for determining a traveling route of a vehicle. In the present embodiment, the track control unit estimates the future movement path (MR) of the moving body from the moving state of the moving body, and the running possible area includes the moving path. You may change the boundaries of the area. Further, in the present embodiment, the track control unit estimates the future movement path of the moving body from the moving state of the moving body, and the traveling path is excluded from the travelable area. The boundary of the possible area may be changed.

According to the vehicle control device of this form, the travel path of the vehicle can be determined after changing the boundary of the travelable area according to the motion state of the moving body existing in the travel direction of the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to reflect the change in the situation due to the movement of the moving body around the vehicle after the captured image is taken in the determination of the traveling route at an earlier stage.

The schematic functional block diagram of the automatic driving control system mounted on the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the traveling route determination processing in 1st Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the photographed image. The schematic diagram which shows the 1st analysis image obtained by the analysis process. The schematic diagram which shows the 2nd analysis image obtained by the analysis process. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the travelable area extracted from a bird's-eye view image. The schematic diagram for demonstrating the process of specifying the boundary of the travelable area to be changed. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the state before changing the boundary of a travelable area. The schematic diagram which shows an example of the state after changing the boundary of a travelable area. The schematic diagram for demonstrating the process of determining a travel route from a travel route candidate. The schematic diagram which shows the boundary change method of the travelable area in 2nd Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the boundary change method of the travelable area in 2nd Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the boundary change method of the travelable area in 3rd Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the track control part in 4th Embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the boundary change method of the travelable area in 4th Embodiment.

1. 1. First Embodiment:
See FIG. The vehicle 100 in the first embodiment is equipped with an automatic driving control system 101 that executes control for automatic driving. As used herein, the term "automatic driving" means driving that automatically executes vehicle drive control, steering angle control, and braking control while the driver's driving operation of the vehicle is not intervening. The automatic driving control system 101 automatically determines the generation state of the driving force of the vehicle 100, the operating state of the brake mechanism, and the steering angle. The "steering angle" means the average steering angle of the two front wheels of the vehicle 100.

The automatic driving control system 101 includes a vehicle control device 10 that controls a traveling path of the vehicle 100 in the automatic driving of the vehicle 100. The "traveling path of the vehicle 100" means a movement locus drawn by the traveling vehicle 100 by changing the steering angle and the speed. The vehicle control device 10 includes a track control unit 20, an image acquisition unit 32, and a motion state detection unit 35.

The track control unit 20 is composed of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) including a central processing unit (CPU) and a main storage device. The track control unit 20 realizes functions as an image analysis unit 22, an area identification unit 24, and a track determination unit 26 by executing a program or an instruction read on the main storage device, and determines a travel route. Execute the track determination process. The functions of the functional units 22, 24, and 26 of the track control unit 20 and the contents of the track determination process will be described later.

The image acquisition unit 32 includes, for example, a camera composed of a CCD or a CMOS image sensor, and acquires a photographed image of the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the image acquisition unit 32 photographs the front of the vehicle 100 from the upper end of the front window. The image acquisition unit 32 repeatedly acquires images taken at a predetermined shooting cycle (for example, about several hundred milliseconds to several seconds) during the automatic operation of the vehicle 100, and transmits the image data to the track control unit 20. ..

The motion state detection unit 35 detects the motion state of the moving body moving in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The motion state detection unit 35 detects a three-dimensional object moving with respect to the ground other than a stationary object that is stationary on the ground, such as a stopped vehicle or a feature existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, as a moving body. The moving body includes other vehicles traveling on the road on which the vehicle 100 is traveling. In the first embodiment, the motion state detection unit 35 includes, for example, a millimeter-wave radar, and detects a moving body existing in front of the vehicle 100 at the tip end portion of the vehicle 100, as shown in FIG. The motion state detection unit 35 repeats the detection of the moving body in the detection cycle of minute intervals (for example, about several milliseconds to several hundred milliseconds).

The motion state detection unit 35 acquires information representing the motion state of the motion body based on the detection result of the motion body, and transmits the information to the track control unit 20. The motion state detection unit 35 may acquire information representing the motion state of the motion body based on the time change of the detection result of the motion body. The "information representing the moving state of the moving body" includes, for example, the position, size, speed, acceleration, angular velocity, moving direction, type of movement, and the like of the moving body. The speed-related values included in the information representing these motion states are acquired as relative values to the vehicle 100. In another embodiment, the motion state detection unit 35 uses various radars that radiate electromagnetic waves, such as other radars that radiate radio waves and LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranking) that radiate light, instead of millimeter-wave radars. You may be prepared.

In addition to the vehicle control device 10, the automatic driving control system 101 further includes a driving control unit 40, a driving state detecting unit 50, and an automated driving control unit 55. The operation control unit 40 controls various mechanisms for driving the vehicle 100. The operation control unit 40 is used in both automatic operation and manual operation. As used herein, the term "manual driving" means driving in which drive control, steering angle control, and braking control of a vehicle are executed with the driver's operation intervening.

The operation control unit 40 includes a drive control unit 42, a braking control unit 44, and a steering angle control unit 46. The drive control unit 42 has a function of controlling the drive unit that drives the wheels of the vehicle 100. The illustration of the drive unit is omitted. As the drive unit, one or more prime movers of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor can be used. The braking control unit 44 executes the brake control of the vehicle 100. The braking control unit 44 is configured as, for example, an electronically controlled brake system (ECB). The steering angle control unit 46 controls the steering angle of the wheels of the vehicle 100. The steering angle control unit 46 is configured as, for example, an electric power steering system (EPS).

The driving state detection unit 50 is composed of sensors used for acquiring information representing the current driving state of the vehicle 100. The "information representing the driving state" includes, for example, the speed and acceleration of the vehicle 100, the steering angle, the yaw rate, and the like. Therefore, the driving state detection unit 50 includes at least a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a steering angle sensor, and a yaw rate sensor. In addition, the driving state detection unit 50 may include general sensors used for driving the vehicle 100. The operation state detection unit 50 is used in both automatic operation and manual operation.

The automatic operation control unit 55 is composed of an ECU including a central processing unit (CPU) and a main storage device. The automatic driving control unit 55 functions as a higher-level control unit of the vehicle control device 10 and the driving control unit 40 when the automatic driving is executed. The automatic driving control unit 55 sets command values calculated by reflecting the detection result by the driving state detection unit 50 so that the vehicle 100 travels on the traveling route determined by the vehicle control device 10, respectively. It is transmitted to the control units 42, 44, 46. Although detailed description is omitted in this specification, the automatic driving control unit 55 uses the map information and the position information of the current location acquired by using GNSS or the like to reach the destination set by the driver. A route to be searched for on the map is set, and the vehicle 100 is driven on the route.

In the automatic operation control system 101, various electronic devices are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network such as CAN (Control Area Network). Further, in the automatic driving control system 101, various functions of the track control unit 20 and the automatic driving control unit 55 can be realized by artificial intelligence using machine learning such as deep learning, for example. In addition, in the automatic driving control system 101, some functions of the track control unit 20 and the automatic driving control unit 55 may be realized by a hardware circuit.

See FIG. The vehicle control device 10 repeatedly executes the travel route determination process described below at a predetermined cycle when the automatic driving is executed. In step S10, the image analysis unit 22 of the track control unit 20 acquires the captured image SI as illustrated in FIG. 4 from the image acquisition unit 32. The captured image SI represents an external view seen in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100.

The analysis process of the captured image SI in step S20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. In the analysis images SIa and SIb exemplified in FIGS. 5A and 5B, different types of hatching are attached to regions having different colors. In step S20, the image analysis unit 22 analyzes the captured image SI by the procedure described below, and generates the analyzed images SIa and SIb divided into regions for each object captured in the captured image SI. This analysis process can be realized by using, for example, semantic segmentation.

See FIG. 5A. First, the image analysis unit 22 generates a first analysis image SIa in which the pixels in the captured image SI are classified according to the type of the object formed by the pixels and color-coded. In the example of the first analysis image SIa of FIG. 5A, the objects in the captured image SI of FIG. 4 are the roadway RW, the sidewalk SW, the building BLD, the natural object NA, the other vehicle VCL, and the sky SK. They are categorized and filled with different colors.

See FIG. 5B. The image analysis unit 22 further classifies various objects classified in the first analysis image SIa into a road surface RS of the roadway, an off-road surface region OJ composed of objects other than the road surface RS, and an empty SK. And color-code each with a different color. This produces a second analysis image SIb as illustrated in FIG. 5B.

See FIG. 6A. In step S30, the area specifying unit 24 of the track control unit 20 generates a bird's-eye view image SIc from the second analysis image SIb, and extracts a travelable region DA in which the vehicle 100 is allowed to travel from the bird's-eye view image SIc. The region specifying unit 24 assumes that the road surface RS is a horizontal plane, and generates a bird's-eye view image SIc by biasing the second analysis image SIb based on the shooting angle of the captured image SI by the image acquisition unit 32. In another embodiment, the area specifying unit 24 obtains the angle of the road surface RS with respect to the horizontal plane using map data or the like, and obtains the bird's-eye view image SIc based on the angle and the shooting angle of the captured image SI. May be generated.

For convenience, FIG. 6A illustrates the position of the vehicle 100 and an arrow indicating the traveling direction DD thereof. In the bird's-eye view image SIc of FIG. 6A, the road surface RS extends from the end corresponding to the current location of the vehicle 100 to the traveling direction DD of the vehicle 100. In the bird's-eye view image SIc, the area specifying unit 24 identifies the area of the off-road surface area OJ as the area where an obstacle that hinders the running of the vehicle 100 is detected. On the other hand, the area of the road surface RS is identified as an area in which an obstacle that hinders the running of the vehicle 100 is not detected. Then, the area specifying unit 24 extracts the area of the road surface RS as a travelable area DA in which the vehicle 100 is allowed to travel. The boundary between the road surface RS and the road surface outer region OJ is the boundary BD that defines the outer edge of the travelable region DA.

See FIG. 6B. In step S40, the area specifying unit 24 identifies the boundary BDm of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA, which is determined by the moving body MB reflected in the captured image SI and whose position may change due to the movement of the moving body MB. do. First, among the moving body MBs detected by the motion state detection unit 35, the region specifying unit 24 shifts those located in the imaging range of the image acquisition unit 32 to the area on the map represented by the bird's-eye view image SIc. , Reflect the size of each and map. The bird's-eye view image SIc of FIG. 6B illustrates two mapped moving body MBs.

Next, the area specifying unit 24 identifies the boundary BD of the travelable area DA located between the moving body MB and the vehicle 100 as the target boundary BDm defined by the moving body MB. The region specifying unit 24 first extracts a plurality of specific point CPs arranged at predetermined intervals on the boundary BD. The area specifying unit 24 draws, for example, a plurality of virtual lines VL extending radially at intervals of a predetermined fixed angle of about several ° around the vehicle 100, and borders the virtual line VL. The intersection of BD and BD is extracted as a plurality of specific point CPs. Next, the region specifying unit 24 sets another specific point CP as the target point OP, which is located on the boundary BD extending along the moving body MB next to the moving body MB among the plurality of specific point CPs. And detect separately. The area specifying unit 24 identifies the boundary BD defined by the point sequence of the target point OP as the target boundary BDm defined by the moving body MB between the vehicle 100 and the moving body MB. In the following step S50, a process of changing the position of at least the target boundary BDm among the boundary BDs of the travelable area DA is executed.

See FIGS. 7A and 7B. 7A and 7B schematically show an example of a bird's-eye view of the traffic conditions around the vehicle 100 traveling by automatic driving. 7A and 7B show one stopped vehicle 200 and two traveling vehicles 201 as other vehicles in the traveling direction of the own vehicle 100. Further, FIGS. 7A and 7B show the boundaries BD and BDm of the travelable region DA described above, and the specific point CP and the target point OP. In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the target point OP identified as the specific point CP is displayed by a black-painted square mark, and the other target point OPs are displayed by a white square mark. In other figures referred to later, the specific point CP and the target point OP are similarly distinguished and illustrated.

See FIG. 7A. In the processing up to step S40, the stopped vehicle 200 is not detected as a moving body MB by the motion state detection unit 35, and is identified by the vehicle control device 10 as a three-dimensional object that becomes an obstacle that hinders the traveling of the vehicle 100. Has been done. On the other hand, each of the two traveling vehicles 201 is detected as a moving body MB by the moving state detecting unit 35. Therefore, in step S40 described above, the area specifying unit 24 detects the specific point CP and the boundary BD located between the vehicle 100 and each traveling vehicle 201 as the target point OP and the target boundary BDm, respectively.

See FIG. 7B. In step S50, the region specifying unit 24 changes the position of at least a part of the boundary BD according to the motion state of the motion body MB acquired by the motion state detection unit 35. The region specifying unit 24 elapses a predetermined elapsed time ΔT using information indicating the motion state of the motion body MB such as the velocity, acceleration, and movement direction of the motion body MB acquired by the motion state detection unit 35. Acquire the predicted position of the moving body MB after the exercise. In FIG. 7B, the predicted position of each traveling vehicle 201 is illustrated by a broken line.

The area specifying unit 24 moves the target point OP corresponding to the moving body MB according to the predicted position of the moving body MB. The region specifying unit 24 replots, for example, so that the target point OP moves to a predetermined position with respect to the predicted position of the moving body MB. In the example of FIG. 7B, the target point OP located at the rear end of each traveling vehicle 201, which is the moving body MB in FIG. 7A, is the rear end of the predicted position of each traveling vehicle 201, that is, the moving direction of the moving body MB. It is plotted at the rear end of.

The area specifying unit 24 changes the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA so as to pass the position of the target point OP after movement. As a result, the position of the target boundary BDm is changed to a position corresponding to the predicted position while maintaining the connection with the boundary BD of other parts. The region specifying unit 24 defines the travelable region DA after the shape of the boundary BD is changed according to the motion state of the moving body MB as the current travelable region DA. If the motion of the moving body MB is predicted and the boundary BD of the travelable area DA is changed in this way, the displacement of the moving body MB with respect to the vehicle 100 is actually detected by sensing or the like, and the subsequent step S60 It can be reflected at an earlier timing in the process of determining the traveling route of. Therefore, the reliability and safety of the automatic driving of the vehicle 100 can be improved.

In step S50, the track control unit 20 changes the elapsed time ΔT used when calculating the predicted position of the moving body MB according to the current traveling state of the vehicle 100 acquired from the driving state detection unit 50. Is desirable. For example, the track control unit 20 may increase the elapsed time ΔT as the speed of the vehicle 100 increases to obtain the predicted position at a time ahead of the moving body MB. By doing so, the more the vehicle 100 is traveling at high speed, the earlier the situation at the earlier time can be reflected in the automatic driving, and the safety and reliability of the automatic driving can be further improved. , Can be enhanced. The track control unit 20 may set the elapsed time ΔT to be smaller than usual in a situation where the steering angle or yaw rate of the vehicle 100 is larger than a predetermined value and the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 is changing. good. This is because, in a situation where the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 is changing, the influence of the change in the situation at a distant time on the vehicle 100 is small.

See FIG. In step S60, the track determination unit 26 of the track control unit 20 determines the travel route of the vehicle 100 within the travelable area DA defined by the area identification unit 24. The track determination unit 26 extracts a plurality of travel route candidate CRs of the vehicle 100 according to the current driving state of the vehicle 100 acquired from the driving state detection unit 50. The track determination unit 26 extracts, for example, a plurality of travel routes when various steering angles are set as travel route candidate CRs while maintaining the current speed of the vehicle 100. Then, the collision margin time (TTC; Time to Collection) is obtained for each travel route candidate CR. The TTC is obtained by dividing the moving distance of the vehicle 100 to the boundary BD of the travelable area DA by the relative speed of the vehicle 100 with respect to the boundary BD of the travelable area DA.

The track determination unit 26 uses TTC as one of the selection criteria to determine the optimum travel route at the present time from the travel route candidate CRs. In the first embodiment, the track determination unit 26 determines a travel route candidate CR having a TTC equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value as a travel route. The track determination unit 26 may determine the travel route candidate CR having a TTC equal to or higher than a threshold value and having the smallest steering angle as a travel route. In another embodiment, the track determination unit 26 may determine the travel route candidate CR having the largest TTC as the travel route. The track determination unit 26 may change the conditions for determining the travel route according to the operation mode of automatic driving set by the driver.

As described above, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment, the travelable area DA in which the position of at least a part of the boundary BD is changed according to the current motion state of the moving body MB is the runway of the vehicle 100. It is used to determine the route. Therefore, before the change in the position of the moving body MB with respect to the vehicle 100 is actually detected by sensing, the change in the situation due to the movement of the moving body MB around the vehicle 100 is early in determining the traveling route of the vehicle 100. Can be reflected in. Therefore, the reliability and safety of the automatic driving of the vehicle 100 by the automatic driving control system 101 are enhanced.

According to the vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment, the positions of the boundaries BD and BDm of the travelable area DA are determined by the coordinate calculation of the specific point CP including the target point OP extracted on the boundary BD of the travelable area DA. I am changing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of calculation for changing the positions of the boundaries BD and BDm of the travelable area DA, which is efficient.

According to the vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment, the positions of the boundaries BD and BDm of the travelable area DA are changed to positions corresponding to the predicted positions of the moving body MB after the elapsed time ΔT has elapsed. Therefore, the change in the position due to the movement of the moving body MB with respect to the vehicle 100 can be appropriately reflected in the travelable area DA. Further, as described above, if the elapsed time ΔT is changed according to the traveling state of the vehicle 100 to obtain the predicted position of the moving body MB, a more appropriate traveling region DA can be obtained.

In the vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment, the positions of the target point OP and the target boundary BDm located between the moving body MB and the vehicle 100 are changed. This facilitates the identification of the boundary BD whose position should be changed in the travelable area DA. According to the vehicle control device 10 of the first embodiment, the travel route of the vehicle 100 is determined by using the TTC from the extracted plurality of travel route candidate CRs. Therefore, in automatic driving, it is further suppressed that the vehicle 100 collides with an obstacle or that the vehicle 100 protrudes from the road surface and becomes inoperable.

2. 2. Second embodiment:
The traveling route determination process in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the vehicle 100 equipped with the automatic driving control system 101 including the vehicle control device 10 is the same as that described in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The travel route determination process of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment except that the content of the process of changing the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA in step S50 is different (see FIG. 3). ).

See FIG. 9A. In step S50, the area specifying unit 24 estimates the future movement path MR of the traveling vehicle 201, which is the moving body MB, from the information representing the moving state of the moving body MB acquired by the moving state detecting unit 35. The area specifying unit 24 estimates the movement path MR of the traveling vehicle 201 by using, for example, the angular velocity, the acceleration, and the speed among the information representing the current motion state of the traveling vehicle 201. For example, the area specifying unit 24 determines the future moving direction of the traveling vehicle 201 from the magnitude of the angular velocity of the traveling vehicle 201, and uses the current speed and the acceleration to determine the movement trajectory of the traveling vehicle 201 from the current location. It may be what you want. The area specifying unit 24 obtains the predicted position of the traveling vehicle 201 after the elapsed time ΔT on the estimated movement path MR.

See FIG. 9B. As described in the first embodiment, the area specifying unit 24 moves the target point OP specified corresponding to the traveling vehicle 201 to a position corresponding to the predicted position of the traveling vehicle 201. Then, the area specifying unit 24 considers that the obstacle that hinders the running of the vehicle 100 does not already exist on the estimated movement path MR, and the movement path MR is included in the travelable area DA so as to be included in the travelable area DA. Change the position of the boundary BD. The area specifying unit 24 moves the specific point CP other than the target point OP, and changes the position of the boundary BD including the target boundary BDm so as to pass through the specific point CP after the movement.

As described above, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the second embodiment, in the travel route determination process, the travelable area DA can be appropriately expanded according to the motion state of the moving body MB, and the travel route can be expanded. You can broaden your choice. In addition, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the second embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the second embodiment, various effects described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

3. 3. Third embodiment:
The traveling route determination process in the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the configuration of the vehicle 100 equipped with the automatic driving control system 101 including the vehicle control device 10 is the same as that described in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The travel route determination process of the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment except that the method of changing the boundary BD of the travelable area DA in step S50 is different (see FIG. 3).

In the third embodiment, the area specifying unit 24 estimates the movement path MR of the traveling vehicle 201 detected as the moving body MB as in the second embodiment, and after the elapsed time ΔT has elapsed on the movement path MR, The predicted position of the traveling vehicle 201 is obtained. The area specifying unit 24 includes a change in the moving direction in the direction in which the moving path MR intersects the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and when the traveling path MR intersects the travelable region DA, the travel route MR is excluded from the travelable region DA. The position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA is moved so as to be performed. As a result, in step S60, the travel path of the vehicle 100 that intersects the travel path MR of the traveling vehicle 201 is suppressed from being extracted as the travel route candidate CR.

As described above, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the third embodiment, in the traveling route determination process, traveling so as not to interfere with the moving path MR of the moving body MB obtained according to the moving state of the moving body MB. The position of the boundary BD of the possible area DA is changed. As a result, the traveling route of the vehicle 100 can be determined so that the collision with the moving body MB is further suppressed, so that the reliability and safety of the automatic driving of the vehicle 100 are enhanced. In addition, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the third embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the third embodiment, various effects described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

4. Fourth Embodiment:
See FIG. 11. In the fourth embodiment, the configuration of the vehicle 100 equipped with the automatic driving control system 101 including the vehicle control device 10 is the first embodiment except that the track control unit 20 further includes the change history storage unit 28. Same as morphology (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The travel route determination process of the fourth embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment except that the content of the process of changing the boundary BD of the travelable area DA in step S50 is described below (see FIG. 3). ..

In the vehicle control device 10 of the fourth embodiment, the change history storage unit 28 stores the change history of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA, which is updated every time the travel route determination process is repeatedly executed in a predetermined cycle. is doing. The area specifying unit 24 changes the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA by using the history information stored in the change history storage unit 28.

See FIG. FIG. 12 schematically shows the traffic conditions around the vehicle 100 and the changes in the travelable area DA for each execution cycle of the travel route determination process. FIG. 12 shows the position of the traveling vehicle 201 detected as the moving body MB at each time t1 to t3 and the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA at each time t1 to t3. The change history storage unit 28 stores the position of the boundary BD at each time t1 to t3 as history information of the change in the travelable area DA.

Here, it is assumed that the traveling vehicle 201 is not detected as the moving body MB by the moving state detection unit 35 at the current time ct. For example, the moving body MB may be removed from the sensing area of the moving state detecting unit 35, or the moving body MB may not be detected by the moving body MB for some reason such as an error. In this case, in step S50 of FIG. 3, the area specifying unit 24 can travel based on the history of changing the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA according to the change in the position of the traveling vehicle 201 so far. The position of the boundary BD of the region DA is changed. The area specifying unit 24 obtains the displacement distance for each cycle up to the previous cycle for the target point OP corresponding to the traveling vehicle 201, and moves the target point OP according to the displacement distance. Then, the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA is changed so as to pass through the target point OP after the movement.

According to the vehicle control device 10 of the fourth embodiment, even if the motion state detection unit 35 loses sight of the motion object MB traced so far, the travelable area DA is determined according to the motion state of the motion body MB so far. Boundary BD is changed. Therefore, even when the motion state detection unit 35 detects the vehicle, the change in the situation around the vehicle 100 can be more appropriately reflected in the determination of the travel route of the vehicle 100.

The change history storage unit 28 not only changes the change history of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA due to the movement of the moving body MB, but also changes the surrounding environment due to the movement of the vehicle 100 such as the change of the road width. The change history of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA may be stored. Also in this case, the area specifying unit 24 may change the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA based on the history of the change. By doing so, it is possible to predict the change in the surrounding environment due to the traveling of the vehicle 100 and reflect it in the determination of the traveling route of the vehicle 100 at an earlier stage.

As described above, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the fourth embodiment, the change of the situation around the vehicle 100 predicted based on the change history of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA so far is measured by the vehicle 100. It can be reflected early in the determination of the travel route. In addition, according to the vehicle control device 10 of the fourth embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the fourth embodiment, various effects described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

5. Other embodiments:
The various configurations described in each of the above embodiments can be modified, for example, as follows. Each of the other embodiments described below is positioned as an example of an embodiment for carrying out the invention, similarly to each of the above embodiments.

(1) Other Embodiment 1:
In each of the above embodiments, the area specifying unit 24 derives, for example, a calculation formula representing the boundary line of the travelable area DA and changes the calculation formula without extracting the specific point CP including the target point OP. Thereby, the position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA may be changed. In each of the above embodiments, the specific point CP may be obtained as a point at which the boundary BD of the travelable area DA is carved at equal intervals at predetermined intervals.

(2) Other Embodiment 2:
In each of the above embodiments, the region specifying unit 24 does not have to change the position of the boundary BD of the travelable region DA to a position corresponding to the predicted position of the moving body MB. In the region specifying unit 24, for example, when it is estimated that the moving body MB moves from the current position from the current moving state of the detected moving body MB, the travelable area DA is the moving body MB. The position of the boundary BD may be changed to include the current position.

(3) Other Embodiment 3:
In each of the above embodiments, the track determination unit 26 does not have to use the TTC when determining the travel route of the vehicle 100. The track determination unit 26 may, for example, determine the travel route candidate CR having the smallest steering angle to determine the travel route of the vehicle 100.

(4) Other Embodiment 4:
In each of the above embodiments, the motion state detection unit 35 may detect the moving body and its motion state by a method other than the radar such as a millimeter wave radar. For example, the motion state detection unit 35 may shoot a moving image and detect the moving body and the motion state from the moving object.

(5) Other Embodiment 5:
The vehicle control device 10 may execute the process of changing the boundary BD of the travelable area DA described in each of the above embodiments in an appropriate combination by switching according to conditions. The vehicle control device 10 may switch the process of changing the boundary BD of the travelable area DA according to, for example, the moving direction of the moving body MB. For example, when the moving body MB maintains the moving direction, the position of the boundary BD of the travelable region DA is changed as in the first embodiment, and when the moving body MB changes the moving direction, the second embodiment or the second embodiment or the first embodiment. 3 The position of the boundary BD of the travelable area DA may be changed as in the embodiment. Further, for example, when the speed of the vehicle 100 is larger than a predetermined threshold value, the vehicle control device 10 has a boundary BD of a travelable region DA so as to include a movement path MR of the moving body MB as in the second embodiment. May be changed. Then, when the speed of the vehicle 100 is less than the threshold value, the boundary BD of the travelable region DA may be changed so as to exclude the movement path MR of the moving body MB as in the third embodiment.

The technique of the present disclosure can also be realized in various forms other than the vehicle control device. For example, a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device, a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, a method for determining a vehicle's travel route, a computer program for realizing those methods, and a storage medium in which the computer program is recorded. can do.

The technique of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and other embodiments, and can be realized by various configurations within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in each of the embodiments described in the column of the outline of the invention may be used to solve some or all of the above-mentioned problems. , Can be replaced or combined as appropriate to achieve some or all of the above effects. In addition, the technical features are not limited to those described in the present specification as not essential, and if the technical features are not described as essential in the present specification, they may be appropriately deleted. Is possible.

10 vehicle control device, 20 track control unit, 32 image acquisition unit, 35 motion state detection unit, 100 vehicle, BD, BDm boundary, DA travelable area, MB moving object, SI captured image

Claims (8)

A vehicle control device (10) that controls a travel path of a vehicle (100).
An image acquisition unit (32) that acquires a photographed image (SI) obtained by photographing the traveling direction of the vehicle from the vehicle, and
The motion state detection unit (35) for detecting the motion state of the motion body (MB) moving in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the motion state detection unit (35).
A runway control unit (20) that defines a travelable area (DA) in which the vehicle is allowed to travel using the captured image and determines a travel route of the vehicle within the travelable area.
Equipped with
The track control unit extracts a region in which a three-dimensional object that hinders the vehicle's travel is not detected from the captured image as the travelable region, and determines at least a part of the position of the boundary (BD, BDm) of the travelable region. It is used to determine the traveling route of the vehicle by changing it according to the motion state of the moving body shown in the captured image .
The track control unit estimates the future movement path (MR) of the moving body from the moving state of the moving body, and sets the boundary of the travelable area so that the travelable area includes the movement path. Vehicle control device to change . A vehicle control device (10) that controls a travel path of a vehicle (100).
An image acquisition unit (32) that acquires a photographed image (SI) obtained by photographing the traveling direction of the vehicle from the vehicle, and
The motion state detection unit (35) for detecting the motion state of the motion body (MB) moving in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the motion state detection unit (35).
A runway control unit (20) that defines a travelable area (DA) in which the vehicle is allowed to travel using the captured image and determines a travel route of the vehicle within the travelable area.
Equipped with
The track control unit extracts a region in which a three-dimensional object that hinders the vehicle's travel is not detected from the captured image as the travelable region, and determines at least a part of the position of the boundary (BD, BDm) of the travelable region. It is used to determine the traveling route of the vehicle by changing it according to the motion state of the moving body shown in the captured image.
The track control unit estimates the future movement path of the moving body from the moving state of the moving body, and changes the boundary of the travelable area so that the movement path is excluded from the travelable area. Vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2 .
The track control unit extracts a plurality of specific points (CPs) on the boundary of the travelable area, moves the position of the specific points according to the motion state of the moving body, and moves the specific points after the movement. A vehicle control device that changes the boundary of the travelable area so as to pass through a point. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
The track control unit obtains a predicted position of the moving body after a preset elapsed time has elapsed from the moving state of the moving body, and determines the position of the boundary of the travelable region according to the predicted position. A vehicle control device that changes to a position. The vehicle control device according to claim 4 .
The track control unit is a vehicle control device that changes the elapsed time according to the traveling state of the vehicle to obtain the predicted position of the moving body. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .
The track control unit is a vehicle control device that changes the position of a boundary (BDm) of the travelable area located between the moving body and the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .
After changing the position of the boundary of the travelable area, the track control unit extracts a plurality of travel route candidates (CR) of the vehicle according to the current driving state of the vehicle, and determines the travelable area. The collision margin time obtained by dividing the moving distance of the vehicle to the boundary by the relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the boundary of the travelable area is obtained for each travel route candidate, and the collision margin time is used from the travel route candidate. A vehicle control device that determines a travel route of the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 .
The track control unit repeatedly executes a process of changing the boundary of the travelable area according to the motion state of the moving body at a predetermined cycle.
The track control unit stores a history of changes in the boundary of the travelable area for each cycle, and changes the position of the boundary of the travelable area in the current cycle according to the history. ..

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